


King's Game

by reinaqueen



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: First Kiss, Idiots in Love, M/M, Non-Canon Relationship, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:40:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24406690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reinaqueen/pseuds/reinaqueen
Summary: Playing chess was simply fun for Leona. Being a game of strategy and deception, much like cards but without the luck and cheating, it was a much more valuable brain exercise for him than some boring lecture on an old, stuffy classroom. Or at least, that was what he told himself for so long; truth is, he simply liked it. Even playing by himself was fine, really; not only he could work on his strategies, but that time was entirely his, for himself.And now this obnoxious horned herbivore was invading his personal turf? Wasn’t everything else enough?
Relationships: Malleus Draconia/Leona Kingscholar
Comments: 4
Kudos: 249





	King's Game

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to hikarimew for proof-reading!

Leona couldn’t help but let out a short sigh. He couldn’t even tell why, to be honest; today wasn’t exactly different, for better or worse, from other days. For someone used to the royal lifestyle, having some kind of routine was par for the course, and so was the comfortable boredom that came from it. 

After another aggravating Monday Alchemy class, he did what he always did to let out some stress: ditch the rest of the classes for the day and go straight to the Botanical Garden for a short nap. As it was after lunch, however, he ended up sleeping a bit longer than usual, and by the time he woke up, it was already too late, with the last bell ringing, and so came another part of his routine: his solo chess games.

Playing chess was simply fun for him. Being a game of strategy and deception, much like cards but without the luck and cheating, it was a much more valuable brain exercise for him than some boring lecture on an old, stuffy classroom. Or at least, that was what he told himself for so long; truth is, he simply liked it. Even playing by himself was fine, really; not only he could work on his strategies, but that time was entirely his, for himself. Despite the sigh, as he looked out the clear glass walls of the garden and saw the afternoon sun inching slowly towards the horizon, and filled his lungs with the sweet, grassy smell of the plants surrounding him, he felt…. Calm. Content, even.

So calm and content was he, he only noticed the smell of magic coming from behind him when it was already too close. And when he noticed whom it belonged to, he couldn’t hold the click of his tongue.

As he turned his head backwards, he was greeted by the black pants of a students’ uniform, along with a shocking, almost sickly green vest, and just the slightest peek of pale white skin between the cuffs and gloves. And as he raised his eyes, he saw the long, dark hair framing a skinny, pale face, with powerful, unreadable green eyes. He didn’t even need to see the black, curved horns that rose tall on his head; those eyes were recognizable enough.

“.....Draconia.” The throaty rumble on his voice, a badly hidden growl, was accidental; the threat on it, not so much. Leona didn’t even bother turning fully to see Malleus, acknowledging him with only words and furrowed brows.

“Kingscholar.” The horned bastard answered, with a curt nod of his head. Or maybe not even that; as he was floating a few centimeters above the stone floor, maybe the bob was an unrelated movement. The eyes hadn’t changed much, however, so Leona assumed he responded his own coldness in kind. “I didn’t expect to see anyone here, at this time.”

“Neither did I. That was why I came in the first place.” Leona turned back to his board and pieces, expecting Malleus to take the fucking hint and go away. He had already forgotten whatever move he was planning, however; try as he could, it was always very hard for him to not get angry at Malleus at the simple - although, admittedly, uncommon - sight of him. 

Malleus Draconia, Prefect of the Diasomnia Dormitory. Regarded as one of the best mages in the world. Great student, great mage, great Magift player. With his reputation, very few students would even try to approach him, so nervous were they at his cool, regal posture. The complete package. The pinnacle of what a mage should be. 

And probably the person Leona hated the most in this school. 

His disgusting perfection in other fields wouldn’t even bother that much, since Leona knew he could do much better if he tried, he just didn’t want to. The problem is that even in what was to be Savanaclaw’s main “thing”, Magift, Malleus had absolutely destroyed them ever since he enrolled. Not the Diasomnia team as a whole, but Malleus, a single person, would always mop the floor with all teams. It didn’t matter that, both inside and outside the school, Savanaclaw was regarded as having the best Magift team; Malleus was by far the best player, so good he was with his magic. 

Time and time again, they were defeated; and by the third time, Leona heard from the Headmaster himself that Malleus would be put in the Hall of Fame before the next Intra-Dorm Tournament. After all, Diasomnia ALWAYS won, and so it was easier to just put him there, right?

Which Leona, proudly, didn’t leave unchallenged. He convinced the Headmaster of giving them another year, were they could finally drag Malleus through the mud; and proceeded to work in a meticulous plan to sabotage all teams, hurting their best players, and planned on making the entire Diasomnia team - more specifically, Malleus - unable to play in the tournament. Which didn’t work, that last part; because of his arrogance, or maybe some mistake one of the other Savanaclaw alumni made, the plan was foiled, and after his Overblot case, Leona and the Savanaclaw team lost to Diasomnia, again.

Though on the outside he paid his dues, playing against the other dorms that thirsted for revenge all those months ago, he only had one regret: that the plan didn’t work. And now this obnoxious horned herbivore was invading his personal turf? Wasn’t everything else enough? Leona slammed a bishop with a bit more strength than needed, a louder clacking sound ringing through the garden. To which Malleus approached silently, hovering behind him to look over his shoulder at the chessboard, before inquiring softly. 

“What are you doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Leona chose to ignore his approach. He didn’t want a fight now, not really; just for him to go away.

“Playing chess by yourself? Why?” Malleus hovered to his side, now looking more attentively at the board. 

“I like it. Besides, no one who knows I stay here would want to play against me. It’s not your business anyway.” 

Malleus had circled the board now, looking the pieces from every angle. After a few seconds of silence, Leona glanced at him, seeing him still focused at the board, and regarded the board with the same attention. Only five black pieces remained on the board, while eight white - favoured by Leona - were encroaching, leaving very little room for their escape. It seemed like a decent enough challenge, really, for both sides; as easy as the victory seemed for the white side, there were still ways for the black side to hold off a little longer. Not win, but maybe make them suffer for that victory. Half the fun of playing by himself wasn’t so much trying to win, but trying to find out how to force the enemy into such situations, where they would, much like him, be forced to either give up or drag a lost game onwards. 

Which just added to the surprise when Malleus landed besides the board, still without taking his eyes off it, and in a soft, almost shy voice, asked: “Mind if I try?”

Leona had never heard such a voice from him. He never even imagined it being possible. Not from the Malleus Draconia. With a few seconds of deep thought, deep thought about that sound, he finally remembered to answer, with a shakier voice than he would ever admit to himself.

“....I guess.”

And so, after the soft “thump” of Malleus sitting on the bench on the other side of the board, the game resumed, now with a real opponent. As he moved his first piece in the game, Leona tried to understand why he had even accepted such a proposal. Nevermind the reason Malleus would want to play; someone like him couldn’t really be read anyways, and believe him, he tried, but why in the fuck would he let him invade his time? Better yet, why would Malleus even come to the garden at this time? The whole situation made no real sense for him. Considering what he’d done and how he’d behaved all this time, Malleus should know how much Leona loathed him. So why?

“Leona….?” Malleus called him louder, almost making him jump in his place. Leona shook his head a bit, his braids hitting his cheeks softly as he tried to disguise his surprise with a yawn. “Your turn.”

“Yeah, yeah….” Leona moved his bishop again. He left it between the black rook and queen, right in position for his own rook. Whichever piece took the bait, it could capture them. “Just sleepy.”

“Did you not sleep well?” Malleus looked at the pieces for a second, and put his slender finger over the rook. Leona didn’t realize before he’d taken his gloves off, and now could see as his pale index finger, it’s nail painted greenish black, held the piece delicately in place. A few moments after, however, he lifted the finger and put it on his darkish lips, the last black knight in the board captured the ambushing white rook from before, with the smallest emerald green sheen of Malleus’ magic on it. After finishing the move, he raised his eyes back to Leona, with an unreadable look on them. Maybe some kind of taunt? Leona wasn’t exactly willing to take it as simple curiosity, but it made no real difference to him anyway. The loss of the rook was unfortunate: he planned on using it as a sacrifice three turns later, and so most of the strategy would have to change. He moved the bishop back a few squares, putting it out of other black pieces’ range so he could stall for some time and, maybe, get a read on Malleus playstyle.

“I did. Just not long enough.”

“I see. Do you come here often?” Malleus moved the black queen all the way, stopping short of entering any of Leona’s range. 

“Yeah.” Leona did the exact same movement with his own queen. Mirroring an opponent's move was a classic way of panicking them, even one with a poker face such as Malleus’.

“But not at this time.” Malleus floated the knight to a new position, capturing one forgotten pawn on the corner. Now almost in equal position to Leona, his voice seemed a bit too soft for the situation, as far as Leona thought. “This is the time I usually come. It’s very rare for someone to be here by now”.

“There’s no one by the time I usually come too. I wouldn’t be here now if I knew there would be someone else.” Leona captured the knight with his own now, barely even registering the movement. 

It didn’t take long for the two of them to engage in a more or less civil conversation. It was much easier for Leona to talk to him when pretending it’s wasn’t, well, Him. So long as he focused his eyes on the game, he could at least be polite enough to not warrant unwanted consequences later.

“I do favor emptier places.”

“You don’t say..”

“I used to go to the Ramshackle Dorm before…” Malleus’ tempo seemed to go up a notch. Was he getting excited…? Nah. “Since that human moved there, things have been a lot more lively.”

“Have they, now?”

“It only gets quiet by the time they’re asleep. It’s the only time I can go there without being bothered.”

“So even the great Malleus Draconia tries to avoid his admirers, eh? Wouldn’t have guessed.” A shit-eating grin firmly on his face now, Leona raised his eyes to see Malleus’ reaction, which didn’t come, besides a small shrug.

“They do that by themselves. I just enjoy doing it on my own volition.” 

Leona frowned at this lacking reaction. More of a pout, really, but he couldn’t - or, maybe, chose not to - realize it. “And you’re telling me that because….?”

“I felt like it. That’s all.” With a solid thump, Malleus posted his queen right in front of Leona’s king. With no other piece in range, both knew what it meant. “Checkmate.”

Now THAT gave Leona pause. The game was very much in the white side’s favor when Malleus entered, with three pieces of advantage. Now, with the same five pieces he started with, Malleus had gotten four of his, two checks and a checkmate. How in the hell did he salvage that situation? And….

“.....How in the fuck did I let this happen?” Leona rumbled softly to himself. He wasn’t sure if Malleus had heard him, but it didn’t seem like so: he was too busy putting his gloves back and looking at his phone, with an elegant black case in an engraved thorn motiff.

“So late already. Almost time for dinner. I should go.” As he put his hand on his chest, Malleus curved slightly to Leona. “Thank you for the game, Kingscholar.” And turned to walk away, the soft glowing emerald of his magic starting to work.

Leona didn’t really pay attention to the magic, or even that much to the words. He grabbed Malleus by the wrist, a bit forcefully. “I want another one.”, he said, looking straight at Malleus’ emerald eyes with his own forest green ones. And was rewarded: for the first time, an identifiable look on Malleus’ face: surprise, as his eyes widened ever so slightly, and finally caught a small shimmer of setting sunlight on them.

“Another….Game, you mean? Why? I thought you liked playing alone.”

“Show me what you did.”  _ He’s thinking about it. Good., _ Leona thought, seeing the almost puzzled expression on his rival’s face. A few seconds of consideration, and Malleus made a motion of shoving Leona’s hand from his wrist so he would let go.

“....I don’t see why not. Same time, tomorrow.” Malleus unwrinkled the cuff of his suit, turned and, in a flash, disappeared from the garden, firefly-like particles falling and vanishing as they hit the ground. 

Leona thought he had seen the faintest red on the tips of his triangular ears; possibly because of the magical flash of his teleportation. As soon as the scent of Malleus and his magic were weak enough, Leona packed the board and pieces on a small wooden box, silently. By the time he was finished, the last violet rays of sunlight were entering the Botanical Garden, and as he looked at the bench, he felt a familiar sensation: the burning hot fire of his determination, his deep desire of surpassing all who are now above him, blazing inside his gut. 

“Beginners’ luck, Draconia. Be prepared.”

A soft sound of empty wood on stone echoed, however, and Leona looked at the ground, just to see the sheen of glazed wood on the floor. He grabbed the fallen object: the black rook from before. Though he couldn’t explain the reason, he took the piece and lifted it to his nose, softly smelling it, the faintest smell of Malleus. A smell like a mix of roses, raw magic and chocolate… Mint…. Ice cream? Huh.

Leona didn’t bother putting the rook back on the box for now. He put it on his shirt breast pocket, now basking on the same, familiar fire from before.

Although, for some reason, now the fire seemed to be going a bit higher than usual, almost to his chest.

* * *

A new routine, slowly but steadily, started to form for Leona.Like most of his days, he would wake up earlier to have his daily Magift training with the rest of the Savanaclaw students; go to classes for as long as he could stand them; after lunch, he would have his mid-day nap in the Botanical Garden, on the days he didn’t have P.E.; by the end of classes and more or less until dinner, instead of doing his usual nothing, he’d wait for Malleus to show up so they could play chess together. 

As they played, an unexpected dynamic soon got established between the two. Though reluctant at first, Leona was quick to entertain Malleus’ attempts of conversation; it was, after all, a good opportunity to find out more information on the mysterious fae student, and with how suddenly talkative he seemed to actually be, it was a matter of time before something important slipped through his… Blackened? Lips. Of course, Leona accounted for the possibility that Malleus had the exact same motivation for keeping on with the farse, but if that was the case, Leona was confident; he couldn’t ALSO be a smooth talker.

Slowly at first, both started trying to find common ground, as Malleus first showed Leona how he did his play on the day before. Conversations started by asking about each other’s classes, usually: where Leona learned how much Malleus didn’t really enjoy History classes, more due to finding it useless when he had people who already told him most of it; soon followed by them talking about their homework and grades. Leona didn’t really like the wry laugh Malleus gave him when he complained about failing due to absence in class, but did come with an interesting tidbit he could use later: how Malleus was more used to using magic for pulling bottles in Alchemy, and how, very rarely, he would mess things up by picking up the wrong bottle for not paying attention. 

They talked about mostly inconsequential things for the rest of the showing and the next game: Malleus’ commentary on how often he’s seen Leona with Ruggie, and what they usually do, did made Leona put his guard back up, but to answer his silence, Malleus did let what almost seemed like envy at how much Ruggie seemed to be familiar with him. Leona asked how well were things in the Diasomnia dorm, since so few students actually dealt with the students there; Malleus said he didn’t deal with other students as much as he should, moreso due to their reluctance to talk with him, plus how much Sebek would try and solve their issues before. 

A half-remembered monologue ensued from him on Sebek soon came. Leona did feel it could become some interesting info, maybe something to drive a wedge between the two, but after hearing details on how much Sebek ended up spitting when talking with other students, or how irritating it was to wake up and having him almost shouting “Good morning!” at him, he did just turn his attention off for the rest. By the time he came back to full attention, Malleus was moving for a checkmate, but thanks to the personal and, honestly, amusing conversation, Leona didn’t feel as aggravated as the day before. He did, however, keep up the act, asking Malleus for another go the next day.

The almost mocking smile of Malleus really, really almost made him regret keeping up the damn act, but Leona knew when to swallow his pride. For some time, at least. And as he did, a weird feeling seemed to snuck up to him, in the very moment Malleus’ smiling lips went back to their usual, cold line.  _ All that matters is that he accepted it _ .

  
  


As his only extracurricular activity was the Magift training, he did end up being stood up by Malleus on Wednesday, which resulted in an almost childish argument. Leona hated with a passion being taken advantage of, and was with that hatred that he confronted the approaching Malleus after sunset, demanding the reason why he was left waiting - and, only to add fuel to the fire, a single Diasomnia student was right behind Malleus, which made Leona even angrier. How dare he? Leaving someone like Leona after making a deal for a small, unassuming herbivore like that? Unacceptable. A single glance and a low growl were enough to send the little prey running, however, leaving the two Prefects by themselves in the now empty corridor.

“So?”

“So…? What, exactly?” Malleus’ feigned innocence made him grit his teeth to hold on a roar.

“Was it fun for you?”

“....Well, in fact, yes, it was.” Malleus’ gloved hand brushed a few strands of hair behind his ear, and sooner than Leona could reply, “I always enjoy the gargoyle research.”

“.....Gargoyle… Research?” Leona hoped his confusion was less apparent to Malleus than it was to himself, lukewarm confusion that seemed to quell his fiery anger.

“Yes. I’m part of the Gargoyle Research Society. We have our meetings every Wednesday and Thursday. Why?” His green eyes peered in the same confusion at Leona’s, before widening in a mix of surprise, shame, and that same unreadable look Leona was started to getting used to. “Our game. I forgot to tell you.”

“Yeah, you did. Kept me waiting by the garden ‘til now.”  _ Why the fuck do I sound like Cheka?  _ Leona chastised himself, more surprised than anything, and put his hand on his hip, admittedly enjoying that new look in Malleus face, the look of someone who just realized they made a mistake. He was used to seeing that look in others’ faces, especially his Savanaclaw underclassmen. But from Malleus? That was new. And, in a strange way, pleasing, if the weird beat in his chest was any indication.

“Did I? I apologize, then.” Malleus’ change was brief, as brief as the ones he had before, and as soon as his eyes went back to their usual unreadable expression, the strange and soft drum on Leona’s chest went silent. “I’m not used to dealing with people who don’t already know about that. I am sorry.”

The apology was expected. The veiled earnestness on it, however, really wasn’t. Leona’s act of smug quasi-anger couldn’t be held after that, and though he tried, he knew it was probably obvious already. He ran his fingers on his hair, scratching his dark brown mane, trying to convey how annoyed he was in a more or less dignified way. “Being sorry isn’t really enough, y’know. My time ain’t cheap.”

“I understand. I didn’t mean it was. Perhaps I can try and compensate you somehow?” Leona’s felt his ears stand up.  _ A decent enough chance _ , his mind told him. Having Malleus owe him one after such a small slight? It was a very attractive idea. He thought of saying so. And as he thought to open his mouth, a… “Thing” seemed to stop him. Some feeling he couldn’t make sense of.  _ Maybe…. It’s too soon to show my hand. _

“....No need, for now. It’s not that big of a deal, I guess.”, was all he could say.

“Is that so? I do hope this won’t discourage you to keep our games going?” The same small smile started to form on Malleus’ face, and Leona felt a fire reignite inside of him.

“Never, Draconia. You better come.”

“I’m glad to hear it. However….” Malleus took his phone out of the inside pocket of his suit as he spoke, pointing at Leona’s front pocket. “Exchange contacts with me. In case something happens.”

“.....All right.” Leona took his phone out, pointing it to Malleus’, and soon the contact exchange was done. Leona didn’t let Malleus’ satisfied look go unnoticed as the horned boy put his phone back in the same pocket.

“I’ll send you a text message in case something happens. I must go now, however.”

“Yeah, I gotta leave too.”

“I’ll see you on Friday, Leona.” Malleus started his way through the corridor, a few turning left as he went towards the cafeteria, mixing himself in the sea of unknown faces of other students. 

Leona spent a few moments in that corridor, however. No real reason, really. All he was doing is trying to decipher what - better yet, why - he felt the strangest fluttery sensation in his stomach. It went away soon enough, and so, he started his own way towards the cafeteria, until he felt the soft vibration of his phone in his pocket. Taking it out, in its brownish, earthy yellow case, he unlocked the screen to be greeted by a text message of his new contact, Malleus:

“This is a test message. No need for an answer.”, followed by… A chibi sticker of himself.

Leona stared at the message for a few seconds, having stopped dead on his track. Just a very simple, very straightforward, very impersonal text. So why was that obnoxious fluttering in his gut back with a vengeance? Just from a test text?  _ What the fuck was even happening to that guy? _ Or himself?

He deliberated for a few seconds, phone in hand as he thought of his next step. He soon decided on it, typing his answer:

“k”

And, some ten seconds later, a sticker of himself.

“... Fucking weirdo.” Leona shoved the phone back on his pocket and started his way again, almost as if fleeing from the new, weird sensations a simple text exchange was caused him.

  
  


* * *

  
  


It’s been a little over twenty minutes since Leona came into the Botanical Garden. He ditched his last Friday period, to make sure he’d be ready by the time Malleus showed up. They hadn’t met since their encounter on Wednesday, which Leona found just a bit weird; more than once he noticed himself eyeing the usual Diasomnia corner of the cafeteria, finding it weird that Malleus wasn’t usually around other students of his own dorm. The only time he saw him was on his way to the cafeteria at dinner time yesterday, when they crossed each other at the corridor, when Leona once again felt the weird rhythm on his chest when Malleus didn’t look at his direction.  _ Probably exhaustion from the Magift training, I guess _ . No big deal, really; after he went back to his room on Wednesday and took a nice, cool shower, he looked back at his phone to see a few messages from Malleus. 

* * *

Just regular small talk: “Are you at the dorm? Did you enjoy dinner?”, with perfectly capitalized and punctuated sentences.

“Bastard’s fucking with me, right...?” Leona shook his hair a bit, dripping water all over the bedsheets and on his shirtless body. By himself, like this, sometimes he would speak aloud to no-one, without having to worry much about how he sounded. The mix of exasperation and…  _ Was that excitemen _ t? Wasn’t loud enough for anyone to hear, but that didn’t make him that much more comfortable. He did, however, decided to entertain Malleus for some time, answering the messages.

“yeah, did, this isn’t a writing class tho”

“What do you mean?” The answer came a few seconds after. Almost as if he was expecting it…?  _ He’s just a quick typer I guess. _

“u write like it’s an essay, chill”. As soon as he hit “Send”, Leona threw the phone on his bed to finish drying himself, only for it to vibrate almost as soon as it hit the sheets. Leona let out a long, defeated sigh.

“Sorry, habit” And a….  _ Is that a cat sticker? _ The small picture of a cartoon cat, their paws on top of their head as they seemed to brace for something, was kinda cute. The kind of thing Leona was used to seeing in Cater’s Magicam posts. Definitely not the kind of thing he expected to be getting from Malleus. And not the kind of thing he’d even care that much about if it was anyone else, though he shoved the thought as far away from his mind as he could.

* * *

Texting with Malleus was honestly almost as easy as talking with him during chess. Not having to look at his face did help a bit; the strong feelings of anger and whatever else were much easier to ignore at a distance, and Malleus was a lot more just…. Kinda fun to talk through text as well. He couldn’t quite put his finger on the reason; by all accounts, and what he remembered of their talks before, he wasn’t that much of a bore, despite how mundane the subjects were. There was, however, something about the… Simplicity of it. The honesty. Both in person and through text, Malleus was a completely different person from what Leona thought he was. When looking at him through the crowd, watching him surrounded by other Diasomnia students, he had always seemed as much of an asshole as most royalty would be, with his cold, arrogant ass trotting around campus; the way he’d play Magift, barely reacting to the other team; even the day he showed up to the Botanical Garden. 

But the more they talked, the more… Simple he became. He had subjects he had difficulty following classes, like History and Defensive Magic, and - imagine that! - Malleus even asked if Leona, who shared his own ease at the subject, could share his notes some other time. He once got a burn on his arm after messing up during Alchemy and dropping an iron solution on his coat. He didn’t want to be too rude to Sebek, due to his well-meaning nature, but almost snapped at him on Thursday’s lunch after an impolite discussion he had with Silver. He liked playing strategy and, surprisingly, fighting video games. His favourite movie was the same as Cheka’s, the one of the princess that falls in love with the monster prince.

At the end of the day, he was… A person. A powerful and competent person, with the admiration and fear of the entire school following him wherever he goes, but a person nonetheless. And the more Leona talked to him and realized that, the more he shared about himself with Malleus and received from him, the more his pulse would speed up when he got a new text, or the sudden, sinking feeling when he looked for him in the crowd of students and Malleus didn’t look back… The angrier Leona would get at himself. Angrier for falling for his tricks, for falling victim to… Whatever he was feeling. That HAD to be some kind of trick of his. Malleus was widely considered the best of Night Raven, and that’s not a position you can get by being “kind of a nice guy”. If he got where he was now, that means he played his cards right. And Leona couldn’t truly believe he wasn’t being played in all of this. And it hurt. He didn’t know what hurted, exactly: being played by Malleus of all people? Being played at all? Or was it just that he didn’t like the idea Malleus could be playing him? He couldn’t tell.

All he really could tell was that the only way for it to stop hurting was to stop altogether. _ Next time, I  _ _ have _ _ to win. _

* * *

“You have everything ready. How nice.” Leona didn’t raised his head, coming back to his senses as he heard Malleus’ voice, watching him walking towards the same bench they had played since the start. He didn’t hear the door or Malleus’ steps approaching from there, neither could notice his scent getting stronger; he probably teleported himself to the Garden as always. The board and pieces were indeed already there, black pieces for Malleus, shining in the afternoon light, and the ivory white pieces for himself, in a warmer tone thanks to the sun.

“Yeah. Didn’t feel like wasting time.” Malleus’ brisk, excited steps slowed down from the lack of gusto in Leona’s voice. Leona didn’t raise his eyebrow at these double takes anymore, from how familiar he was with them, but he wasn’t able to keep looking as an almost childish sadness seemed to creep in Malleus’ eyes. Slower and more carefully - much like an overly cautious animal - , Malleus got to the bench and took his seat, bending his body so he could look at Leona directly.

“Is… Everything okay?”  _ He actually sounds like he cares _ , Leona’s sneering mind commented, but the sincerity brought a small pang of guilt. “Did you not sleep well?” Even though he knew it was all a trick, Malleus act was impeccable, and so he couldn’t help but soften his tone a bit. 

_ Too soon to show your hand, Leona. Keep the act.  _ “Y-Yeah. Didn’t. A few…. Issues I’ve been thinking about.” He sat a bit more straight, uncomfortable with the strange-but-now-familiar look in Malleus’ eyes, occupying as little space as he possibly could. “Wanna start?”

“....Sure.” Malleus moved his first pawn, a bit deflated. Leona did saw a few glimpses of Malleus’ meeker side before, but that was different. He looked… Sad, in a very difficult-to-ignore way. Leona forced himself to keep his eyes on the board at all times, moving his first pawn as well, and so the game began.

Malleus didn’t just stay quiet, however, even if Leona could hear a strange, hesitant tone in his voice. He tried to keep his more confident persona as he tried to find some subject they could talk about, but Leona’s quieter and colder tone were effective at making him take the hint. Soon enough, the sound of the pieces on the board were the only barrier against true silence between the two. And they were quick enough to fill the void, admittedly; Leona was pretty much used to Malleus’ playstyle after just the previous games, his smart, all-encompassing strategies, much akin to a snake: waiting quietly for long periods of time, just to take it all in one fell swoop. Though a bit slow at the start, this time Leona was ready, only increasing his own playing tempo when Malleus did. On his peripheral vision, he saw Malleus also testing the waters, the greenish sheen of his magic coming on and off different pieces as he seemed to bait some reaction out of Leona, but it didn’t work.

For all the time, Leona’s mind was racing, barely registering the game itself.  _ What the fuck was happening? Why is he trying that much to look dejected? What does he has to gain from this whole spiel? He knows I already know. There’s no reason for him to keep this up, so wh- _

_ “ _ Y-You know, what do you say we make this game a bit more… interesting?” A stronger emerald flash seemed to have happened while Malleus talked, but Leona couldn’t be sure. The little hiccup didn’t go unnoticed, though; probably just his magic suffering from his own, unstable mental state. Leona’s nose might not have been as good as Jack or Ruggie’s, but he could feel the soft scent of Malleus’ nervous, cold sweat: a faint smell of floral deodorant and candle wax, along with Malleus own body’s… Malleus had to call him by name, lost as he was in thought over the surprisingly pleasant smell.

Leona rubbed his face, trying to magically shove the heat out of his face. “How so? Anything in mind?”

“Maybe a small bet. Not money, however. What do you say of… Whatever? The winner chooses the prize.” Malleus’ lips curled in a dangerous smile, hands just so in his lap.

_ This is it. The catch.  _ Leona felt his own lips curl in a smirk, eyes locked on Malleus’, trying to see what exactly he was thinking through their green glow. Leona did take pride in how well he could evaluate others’ intentions and thoughts, mainly from their eyes, but even now, after the previous games, he still really couldn’t tell what Malleus was thinking. All he could see was that same, still unknown look he almost got used to. Leona licked his lips before answering, not a single waver in his voice: 

“You’re on.” 

“Excellent. Do entertain me, Leona.” Malleus’ cocky smile didn’t hide the small shake in his voice, but it didn’t matter anymore. Now Leona knew all bets were off, and he started to regard the board more attentively.

Odds were pretty even between the two, eleven white pieces and twelve black. With Leona mirroring Malleus’ slow tactics instead of his moves, he managed to hold off, losing one pawn on purpose to force Malleus out of his stalling. If things went accordingly, he could end this in eight, maybe nine turns. As he took a longer look on Malleus’ pieces, his ever-faithful gut seemed to tell him there was something amiss, but nothing stood out on the board that he could pinpoint.  _ Maybe I’ll just be a bit more careful. Make it eleven turns. _

  
  


“Checkmate.” Smugness dripping like poison from his smile, Malleus finally finished the game.

Leona’s mind went quiet for the first time today.

The game did take a lot longer. Despite his planning, something on Malleus strategy made things infinitely more difficult, and the planned eleven turns soon became twelve, then fifteen, then twenty. At the thirty-fourth turn after the bet, Malleus finally landed the killing blow, with only five pieces left, versus Leona’s four. And even then, it had gotten really close; the turn before, Leona was able to keep his king in check for three whole turns, only to get lopsided when it was already too late. It was an amazing game, that much was true.

He just really didn’t want to know the aftermath.

“Congratulations, I guess.” He sighed, deflated, already having accepted the defeat. As he slumped on the bench, hands behind his head, he tried, for the first time, to imagine what Malleus could even want out of him. And as he did, he realized once again that it didn’t make too much sense. What could Malleus even get out of him, if he was already considered the number one in everything?

“Now, to the victor, the spoils. Hope you don’t mind.” Malleus triumphant tone and smile really bothered Leona. Not so much due to the feeling on them; more because of the weird leap on his chest as he saw his sharp teeth, framed by his dark lips. To take his eyes - and hopefully, mind - out of it, he closed them, almost as if bracing himself from whatever Malleus was going to say or do.

A few seconds passed, and nothing happened. And as Leona opened his eyes, he got a glimpse of Malleus’ face rapidly approaching, baleful green eyes with that strange look on them, slowly closing. His slightly pursed lips closing in as they approached Leona’s own, until they finally touched, and time seemed to stop in the Botanical Garden.

Leona finally understood what that look meant, at least.

_ ….Soft. _ , was the only coordinated thought that could come from Leona’s mind. A barrage of conflicting thoughts in the background, all he could do now was try and concentrate on his sensorial stimuli. He could feel Malleus’ body heat through his soft lips, feel his scent even better with how close he was, hear his heart beating fast in his chest. When Malleus finally broke the kiss, Leona noticed how red his ears were.  _ So I wasn’t wrong back there.  _

Malleus cleared his throat as he saw Leona’s open eyes with his own, moist ones. “...I’m going now.”, and, with a mumbled apology and a tug at his collar, started his way to the door, the green sheen of his teleportation magic starting to work. 

Or so would have happened if Leona, still sitting, didn’t held him by the wrist. He rose slowly from the bench, gloved hands in a firm grasp to Malleus. All the time, his unreadable eyes steadily on Malleus’ now uncertain and, as he now knew, infatuated ones.

“Do you mean it?” Malleus seemed to shrink in place from the seriousness in his voice, but that didn’t stop him. “Is this a joke?”

Though his voice was even shakier, Malleus posture did went back to his more composed self. “....No. It wasn-”

“Good.” Leona propped Malleus’ chin up with his free hand and pulled him for a kiss. It didn’t take long for Malleus to fall in as well; he put his hand on Leona’s back almost at the same time as Leona let go of his wrist to to pull him by the hip. 

The kiss soon got deeper, both of them letting their mouths open a tad more, and soon exploring more of each other’s feelings. Leona’s coarse, rough tongue rasped against Malleus’ long, split one, as they tasted more of each other, bodies closing and pressing into the other, and Leona felt the burning hot fire on his gut to fully transform into a now cozy blaze in his chest - and a more pronounced, well-known heat on his pants.

Neither seemed to realize, or care, about the dimming sunlight, soon plunging the garden in almost total darkness, save for the fluorescent lights outside; when they finally broke their kiss, lips parting hesitantly, all Leona could see was the glow of Malleus’ eyes, longingly looking back into his. He sat down at the bench, again, letting out a long, satisfied sigh, and Malleus soon followed, so close to Leona their knees could touch.

“....I really didn’t expect this.” Leona chuckled a bit from Malleus’ attempt at breaking the silence, prompting the fae to keep talking. “It’s not funny, you know.”

“Well, to me, it kinda is. How… Stupid things were.” Hesitantly, Leona put his arm across Malleus shoulder, subtly enough for him to not notice at first. “How stupid I am.”.

Malleus sighed as he shook his head, and as he saw the arm behind him, soon laid on Leona’s broad, muscular shoulder. “You are not stupid.”

“I kinda am, though. Took this long to get what this…” He gestured vaguely to the board. “Was all about.”

“Don’t underestimate me, Kingscholar. You were not stupid; I simply was smarter, this time.” A small shrug, an excuse to snuggle up to Leona, followed. “I had to.”

“Why? You could have just said something.”

“Would you have listened? I know  _ very _ well how you felt about me before.” Malleus’ sour tone made Leona pull him up a bit closer in silence for a moment.

“...Why, then? This whole thing could have backfired in a lot of ways.” Leona’s quieter, polite tone brought Malleus gaze back to him, the green glow of his eyes lighting a small patch on his vest.

“I know how the rest of the students and faculty feel about me. I know of their awe, or rather, their fear.” A small pause as he looked down to his own hands, and he started to take his gloves off, one finger at a time. “That’s why I look for empty places. I dislike being watched with that fear, or having the rest of my dorm making sure said fear continues.”

“Yeah, and what-”

“I’m not finished.” Malleus put his gloves on his suit’s pocket, his black nails reflecting a bit of his eyes’ light. “ You, on the other hand, went out of your way to antagonize me. First with the ceremonial robe, then with the Intra-Dorm tournament, and even when we started playing. You never seemed to fear me, only wanting to stab me in the back. And you almost did.”

“Tch, ‘almost’. Nice way of saying ‘You failed’.” As Leona tried to turn his head away, Malleus pulled it back to meet his by the chin, eyes now firm and with their usual confidence.

“Do not underestimate yourself either. If it weren’t for your pup and the human, you would have done it with ease. The plan was meticulous, well thought and perfectly executed. Your only failure was not having a backup plan, and even then, I’m not sure I would have had one in your place.” Leona couldn’t stand that sincere gaze, but every time he tried to look away, Malleus’ seemed to pull his attention in again and again. “You are capable, intelligent, unscrupulous, and determined. Your only real failing is how quick you are to give up. I wouldn’t have settled for someone lesser than me, Leona. Do not disrespect me by disrespecting yourself.”

Leona stood quiet after this for a moment, and Malleus sighed, laying his head back on his shoulder.

“As I was saying, I started to pay attention to you after that incident. Someone who was that invested in me to this point, not fearing repercussions? I had to respect that.”

“....And at what point….?”

It was Malleus turn to be quiet after this, his voice back to it’s quieter, shyer tone. “When I realized that… W-Well, being that invested in me, maybe I could… Turn your feelings into something else. That maybe we could….Complement each other well.”

“.....Pfff-” Leona threw his head back and erupted in laughter, prompting an elbow strike from Malleus that only made him laugh louder, and Malleus to blush even more.

“What’s so funny?!”

“I just…” Leona pulled him closer by the shoulder, a small smile on his lips as he looked into Malleus’ eyes. “Never imagined THE Malleus Draconia to say I could complement him. That’s all.” Leona could feel the heat coming from Malleus’ ears and, as revenge, playfully bit the tip, loving the feel of Malleus squirming under his touch.

“W-Well, neither did I. I am much, much more confused than you.” Malleus raised his flushed face back to Leona, sighing sadly. “I am not very used to dealing with people, even less with such… Feelings. I am not exactly social.” And as he spoke, Leona pulled his face up for another long, albeit softer, kiss. As Malleus leaned more in his embrace, his body heat wonderfully comfortable, Leona pulled him closer to himself, almost on top of him.

“...We’ll figure it out. Heh…” He raised his hand, caressing Malleus’ lips with his thumb with a cocky smile. “Good to finally know where that ice cream smell keeps coming from.”

  
  
  



End file.
